Burglary suspect quickly arrested

Kelrick Richards

Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) deputies quickly apprehended a man accused of burglarizing a store in Cassatt on Monday.

Deputies charged Kelrick Wayne Richards, 22, who lives on Thoroughfare Branch Road in Cassatt with one count of third-degree burglary for allegedly breaking into the Cassatt Country Store shortly before midnight Sunday night.

A KCSO press release said deputies learned of the crime Monday morning and were told cigarettes and smokeless tobacco had been stolen. Deputies gathered evidence at the scene and a surveillance video reportedly showed a clear image of Richards, who is known to deputies from a previous burglary for which he is on probation.

The press release said Richards voluntarily appeared at KCSO headquarters, where deputies interviewed him. He denied his involvement, but investigators went to the residence Richards shares with his mother and brother. Deputies said his mother was “very cooperative” and gave investigators consent to search the home, where they found the stolen cigarettes and the clothing Richards allegedly wore during the burglary. At that point, Richards admitted his involvement, the release said.

Richards is being held in the Kershaw County Detention Center for a bond hearing. Deputies arrested him previously in 2013, charging him with burglary for which he was out on probation.

“Richards was given a probationary sentence for the previous burglary,” Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said. “The leniency given him by the sentencing judge obviously did not teach him a lesson. Hopefully, a jail sentence for this burglary will.”